15 April 2025 – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane – words by Cecilia Pattison-Levi – pictures by Nino Lo Giudice
Soft Cell stopped on their Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret 40th Anniversary Tour at The Fortitude Valley Music Hall. It may be hard to believe, but this is the first time the English duo of Marc Almond and David Ball have performed in Australia. Fans knew that they would play their highly acclaimed Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret album in full, and Marc Almond was going to perform some of his solo material. Some of us were eager to hear songs from their newly released album Happiness Not Included as well.
Okay. Elephant in the room. The crowd for this type of gig is usually on the older side and the seated area of the mezzanine was full. But for those of us on the floor, in was great to see a mix of ages with pop fans, a sprinkling of goths, and everyone in between. These shows tend to bring out a sense of joy and euphoria in the crowd as many in the crowd are seeing bands from their youth. Soft Cell were considered one of the best synth-pop acts in the early 1980s, due to their controversial beginnings in Britain with a scandal surrounding the ‘Sex Dwarf’ video clip from 1982 and Marc Almond’s provocative appearance of Top Of The Pops with his androgynous fashion sense: it has taken Soft Cell 46 years to make it to Australian shores.
But here we all are – 46 years later – waiting for Marc Almond and his band to open the concert. The band with: guitarist, bass player, drummer, keyboard and two backing singers (Bryan Chambers and Kelly Barnes) came out and commenced the evening with ‘The Stars We Are’ and ‘Tears Run Rings’. Then, Marc Almond addressed the crowd and stated: “We are having such a great time in Australia”. He went on “Yes. They said we want Soft Cell to play Australia. And we said yes. But I told them I can play my music and Soft Cell. So, I am here with my lovely band and I am supporting myself”. The crowd cheered!
Marc Almond (solo) – Fortitude Music Hall – photos by Nino Lo Giudice
Marc Almond played solo hits from a career spanning over forty years. The musical delivery was schmick as the band was a collection of elite musicians and the sound was excellent. Marc Almond seemed so happy to be in Brisbane. He repeated every few songs: “I’m in Brisbane… it’s a dream! And, I will never get used to saying Brisbane enough”.
Marc Almond’s solo set was charismatic and flamboyant. He has released over 28 solo albums and he cherry picked his best songs with; ‘My Hand Over My Heart’, followed by ‘Child Star’, the sing along of ‘A Lover Spurned’ and ‘Stories of Johnny’. The die-hard (mostly English fans of a certain age) were happy to hear songs from his covers album that included: ‘Black Heart’ by Marc And The Mambas, then a Bob Lind via Val Doonican “gone psychedelic” version of ‘Elusive Butterfly’, followed by Gene Pitney’s ‘Something’s Gotten Hold of My Heart’, David McWilliams ‘The Days of Pearly Spencer’ complete with a strange and endearing interpretative dance. Then, he closed out his warm up set with Jacques Brel’s version of ‘Jacky’.
After a short break, the stage was refitted with the lighting becoming more elaborate, and when Marc Almond reappeared alongside David Ball rocking the black Wayfarer Ray-Ban look for the full Soft Cell performance of Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret the crowd was ready. They had promised to play the album in its entirety and in running order, and the energy in the venue dialled up and they launched into the first beats of ‘Frustration’.
Soft Cell – Fortitude Music Hall – photos by Nino Lo Giudice
Soft Cell were supported by two backing singers Bryan Chambers, Kelly Barnes and an amazing saxophonist. While Dave Ball was surrounded by synths and hardly moved, Marc Almond was even more flamboyant and spectacular as usual; he owned the stage. And, this set the scene for track two of Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret: ‘Tainted Love’. The synth beat rang out and the venue just jumped and burst into song. It seems that people never tire of hearing the song. It is important to note that it was the cover version of Gloria Jones’ song which catapulted the band to stardom. Soft Cell made it their own and it was one of the biggest hits of the 1980s.
The performance of ‘Seedy Films’ was really well done and there was comedic in-song banter with the three singers interacting. ‘Sex Dwarf’ made everyone scream at the top of their lungs to a song about “a life of vice”. ‘Entertain Me’ and ‘Chips On My Shoulder’ created a clubbing atmosphere. Then, the focus shifted into the story of Soho living in ‘Bedsitter’ and the ‘Secret Life’ of living between the real and club worlds. Then, ‘Say Hello, Wave Goodbye’, one of the best songs on the album, rounded out the set and the album as its last track. The song was accompanied by changing visuals which added to the experience; seeing the pink flamingos and Marc Almond waving at us meant that the show had ended. Or so we thought.
Soft Cell – Fortitude Music Hall – photos by Nino Lo Giudice
They saved five more songs for the encore: ‘Torch’, the fantastic remix by Pet Shop Boys of ‘Purple Zone’ from ‘Happiness Not Included’. Then, Marc Almond stated “once is not enough – let’s sing-along and make it loud!” and the band played the 12-inch version of ‘Tainted Love’ mixed with ‘Where Did Our Love Go’. Then, the set and evening really did come to an end with the cleverly chosen ‘Memorabilia’ and it had a fantastic interplay between the singers with mash ups of ‘Rhythm of The Night’ (Corona), ‘Into The Groove’ (Madonna) and ‘Can’t Get You Outta My Head’ (Kylie Minogue) played within the mix. And, Soft Cell had made sure the night was memorable.
Soft Cell delivered the album with great emotion and absolute precision. Marc Almond’s vocal performance was seductive and mesmerising, gentle yet powerful. David Ball was the master of the synth. After 46 years, I can say that Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret stood the test of time.
